Poor bantam is all twisted up

Pics

izzy434

Chirping
5 Years
May 6, 2015
48
47
87
Yesterday when I came home I was greeted by my little bantam hen turning her head upside down and walking backwards. I brought her in and held her in thinking an hour or two of holding her and stroking her she'd settled down whatever it was but now day 2 and she's still not right. Pretty much helpless. I fully expected her to be dead this morning. But instead she's wanting to be held and stroked like you would comfort a baby to help it fall asleep. She'll eat in a jerky kind of way and I give her water with the eyedropper that has minerals and electrolytes. I don't know what else I can do for her. If I put her down she just backs up in circles. It's like her balance and her vision are all upside down or something. Does this sound familiar to anyone? If I set her down on the ground she can't even hold her head up.
 
Yesterday when I came home I was greeted by my little bantam hen turning her head upside down and walking backwards. I brought her in and held her in thinking an hour or two of holding her and stroking her she'd settled down whatever it was but now day 2 and she's still not right. Pretty much helpless. I fully expected her to be dead this morning. But instead she's wanting to be held and stroked like you would comfort a baby to help it fall asleep. She'll eat in a jerky kind of way and I give her water with the eyedropper that has minerals and electrolytes. I don't know what else I can do for her. If I put her down she just backs up in circles. It's like her balance and her vision are all upside down or something. Does this sound familiar to anyone? If I set her down on the ground she can't even hold her head up.
Do you have a pic of her? Just from your description it sounds a bit like it "could" be wry neck...but it's very hard to say for certain.
 
15060141402241642579236.jpg
 
That's an excellent pic! It appears that it could be wry neck. It could also be an injury. Was she having any trouble with her balance, or walking prior to this happening? Sometimes a chicken can exhibit a swaying type gaze or look lost.:)

I would suggest a giving her poultry vitamins. Something like nutri-drench, or a dry premix poultry vitamin that you mix with water. There are different varieties. It's best to get something with a broad spectrum of vitamins so if there is a deficiency the vitamins will cover that. Hopefully the vitamins will help. That would be the fist thing I'd do. Can she eat and drink by herself?

If it's an injury it may take time to recover. It can depend on the severity of the injury. At this point it's a bit of a guessing game. It can due be more severe issues like disease...but it's best to see how she responds to the vitamins and time first.
 
Yes I agree that it looks like wry neck, which can include a twisted neck up, down, or to one side, and they may also run backward or i circles. Sometimes it is called crazy chick disease or crookneck. Vitamin E and selenium are good to give, but thiamine (vitamin B1) is another that may be important in helping wry neck symptoms. Wry neck can be due to a head injury, hereditary, a vitamin deficiency, or from certain diseases including Mareks, avian leukosis, and any disease that affects the brain. Making a wet mash of chicken feed, egg, plain yogurt, with plenty of water to make it like a thinner oatmeal consistency can make it easier to eat with you holding her wrapped in a towel. It is safer to hold a small cup of water to her beak to drink than to risk choking by feeding with a dropper. Chopped almonds and sunflower seed, pumpkin or sweet potato, broccoli and spinach are foods rich in E. Selenium is found in egg, tuna, and sunflower seeds. Thiamine is obtained from chopped beef liver, beef, pork, SF seeds, spinach, plain yogurt, and flax seed. NutriDrench or Poultry Cell contain all 3 and dosage is 1-2 ml daily, or you can use other vitamin sources. Here is some reading:
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Crookneck/Crookneck.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/lets-talk-wry-neck-crook-neck.97121/
 
Here is a couple of sites that explain different deficiencies that can occur in chicks. You can also find a fairly comprehensive list of some of the diseases Eggcessive listed above.

It helps me to understand how vitamin deficiencies affect the bird and what they do.
It may help you to see something that's important to the bird's well being. :)

This following site lists more deficiencies along the left side of the page, as well as some of the diseases.
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/218/vitamin-e-deficiency/

The merck vet manual has vitamin deficiencies on the left and other information on the right.
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/poult...ement-poultry/vitamin-deficiencies-in-poultry
 
Thank you I will definitely follow those suggestions. In the meantime for today I smashed up a couple of my own multiple vitamins which contain vitamin E selenium and vitamin B1 I mash it up with an egg yolk and she gobbled it up. She's a very messy eater now however since her poor head is off to the side she can't get a good aim. I'm impressed with her determination. It makes me want to do everything I can to support her.
She's napping now after that nutritious meal.
 
Thank you I will definitely follow those suggestions. In the meantime for today I smashed up a couple of my own multiple vitamins which contain vitamin E selenium and vitamin B1 I mash it up with an egg yolk and she gobbled it up. She's a very messy eater now however since her poor head is off to the side she can't get a good aim. I'm impressed with her determination. It makes me want to do everything I can to support her.
She's napping now after that nutritious meal.
That sounds encouraging. It's good she can eat. Please keep us posted on how she's doing. :thumbsup
 
Nothing quite like this ever happened to her before. I remember a couple times maybe earlier this year when she kind of seemed like she's sort of flopped around, but then came back to normal pretty quickly. They eat like Queens I don't understand how they could be deficient in just about anything. It feels more like a neurological thing to me. She is part silky and she does have that kind of poofy hair tuft on top of her head. So maybe it is something that is hereditary. All I can do is feed her the right stuff and pray for her and the rest is up to...... life and death I guess.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom